There's More Than One Devil
by Marie-xx
Summary: Candice has experienced the devil, in fact she's experienced more than one. But never did she expect one to save her life. Now trying to exist in a world that seems beyond her, Candice has to make the ultimate decision to forgive and forget, or to revenge with rage. *TRIGGER WARNINGS*
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Screaming, Candice pulls at the metal chains that clamp around her wrist. The pain cramping every muscle in her body.

"Inject more" Doctor Frett instructs.

"Doctor, her body will go into shock…" the nurse stammers lowering one syringe, carefully picking up another one.

"My little super-star will survive, don't you worry."

Her vision blurry, Candice screeches. Her screams are masked by the machines around her, some beep excessively, others extract hot air into the, already, damp air.

The nurse injects the needle into her already swollen vein. Candice's blood immediately begins to boil, the pain throbbing in her temples. Her heart beating too fast.

A few minutes pass, her screams become whimpers, and then her whispers become silence. In and out of consciousness, Candice sees Doctor Frett walk close. His cold hands tucking her blond hair behind her ear, wiping the sweat away with his coarse fingers.

"You did good my star. We need to keep an eye on you for the next week. Hopefully this experiment has been… successful."

Dangling her heavy head, Candice looks at her naked and frail body.  
"Take her back to her cell, ensure she has enough water by her side. It's safe to say the next few days are going to be more than difficult for her."

Candice hears the door open at the end of the room.  
"Sir, General Peters is here to see you." A soldier states. Candice's heart begins to rapidly beat at the sound of his name. She looks up, but her eyes can't focus on anything too far away. All she can see is the back of Doctor Fretts head; his pimple sized head.

"Very well, bring him in."

Candice hears the heavy steps, heel-toe-heel-toe. She can smell his strong after-shave lingering the air. The rage in her chest begins to heat.

"General Peters, pleasure to see you."

Candice watches the Doctor grasp the General's hand into a firm hand-shake. Candice always wondered if monsters could recognise monsters.  
"I wish I could say the same Doctor Frett, but I'm afraid I'm on a urgent errand I wish I didn't have to partake in."

Candice sees his slicked-back black hair, the kind that looks too greasy. But she can still remember how it crunched beneath her skin when she ran her fingers through his hair. Her body begins to shake uncontrollably.

"You must move your test subjects ASAP. We have a threat underway and we cannot afford to lose our most valuable…" Candice can feel his emerald eyes stare at her naked body. Candice snaps her head up, looking directly at him, her teeth grinding. The General averts his eyes immediately, the action could almost be mistaken for shame.

The nurse that was lingering, begins to unhook Candice, two soldiers at her side ready to neutralise Candice if need be.

"Uh I don't feel comfortable discussing this around… _it_."

Candice drops her head lower, losing the eye contact. She feels the metal chains loosen, her body falling into the soldiers strong arms. Doctor Frett looks at Candice, his beaded eyes lightening up. The scar across his face seems to sink deeper in each day Candice sees him.

"Oh don't you worry about her." The doctor walks toward Candice whose limp body is in the arms of the soldier. "She's my own personal, little super-star."

Candice watches his smile reach to both his ears.

"Take her to the truck, I want her escorted out immediately and kept safe" Doctor Frett says, his voice now stern. "No one goes near her unless I allow it, you understand? Take her to safe house 3. If she has even a splinter when I go and check up on her…" Doctor Frett pauses, licking his dry lips "I'll kill you with my bare hands."  
The drugs in her system paralysing her voice, Candice remains silent as she is taken out of the lab and packed into a truck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The metal van vibrates against her back. Shrivelled into a ball, her body convulses, sweat dripping down her forehead.  
The pain in her muscles every time she shakes causes her to cry out slightly. As the van turns, what she can only suspect, a sharp corner Candice is flung to the other side of the van.

The impact of the hit sends her into shock. Tears roll down her hot face, falling on her over-sized patients robe. Her face on the vans floor, rubble scratching her sensitive skin.

Images of Doctor Frett, bending over her body as he injects drugs. Doctor Frett chuckling as he takes blood from her. Doctor Frett kissing her forehead as she blacks out from the pain. Trying to blink away the tears and the images, Candice cries out. At first her cries are directed at General Dominic Peters. This pain, this torture; these endless experiments are because of him. He tricked her. _He_ kidnapped her.

Candice opens her eyes, tears landing on the metal floor. _This is my fault. I am here because of my stupidity, my naivety, my delusional dreams of true love._  
Candice this time screams. The scream, at first blood curdling, become sobs of silence. Her tears choking back her voice.  
"Don't let … don't let them… win" Candice says to herself, closing her eyes.

Candice was holding onto her knees, still in a ball, when the van crashed.

Hitting the top and then the side, Candice again screams. Eventually, the van stops moving, along with Candice's body. Her fingers grip at the metal floor. Unsure whether it is technically the floor, or the side, or the roof of the van Candice begins to pull her body toward the van doors.

Grunting, in both pain and motivation, Candice's body moves inches closer.  
The sound of metal crashing against metal travels into Candice's ears. She lifts her head up as she sees the van doors pry open.

A bright orange light travels into the van. Lifting her head, Candice looks at the man whose dressed head-to-toe in a rigid suit, a deep red suit.

"Are you okay?" the man asks, his voice full of … concern? Candice hears the guns cocking, but before she can warn the masked-man he flips round and hidden out of site.

"GRAB HER! DON'T YOU LET HIM TAKE HER!" a voice hollers.

Shots beyond her vision are fired, Candice continues to haul herself from the van. The fresh air on her hands as she grips the door makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Candice hears the grunting of men and echoes of yelling from outside.

Bending sidewise, Candice manages to slip her body through the small gap between the van doors.

The drop from the van, which she realises is flipped on its side, to the concrete floor makes Candice screech. The impact causes her brittle bones to shake and quiver under her malnourished skin.

The floor is damp, and light droplets from the sky fall onto the side of Candice's face. Her fingers trace the road and the wind continues to blow; but eventually the pain makes her vision blurry, and the last thing she sees is the man in red walk towards her with his arms extended.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Candice wakes up to her skin itching. Her bitten finger nails, etch themselves within the sides of her thighs. As if not deep enough, Candice pushes more pressure onto her skin.

The corner of her nail begins to slice her skin. Opening her eyes, expecting to find herself on her wet mattress, Candice looks at the room. The grey bed sheets beneath and above her.

The ray of natural light pouring in from the window. Opening her aqua blue eyes wide, Candice grips the mattress she's lying on in fear. The air is cool, and the smell of food being cooked wavers into her nose.

Pulling the sheet off of her body, Candice see's she's still wearing the patients gown which is covered in dirty stains. The stench of her unwashed body lingers in her nostril hairs. Shaking her hands reach out in front of her, then towards her mouth she feels the skin on her face. The soreness of her face makes her hands retract, then suddenly she feels the itch again. This time the itch has spread beyond her thighs, but all over her body.

Candice turns and, unsteadily, rises to her feet. As if her weight is too heavy for her legs, her knees buckle as they take the first step. Glancing through some open doors, she senses the aura of people in the other room. Grinding her knuckles, Candice forms her hands into fists.

Ushering her way through a woman in her thirties stands from the sofa, her eyes worryingly looking at Candice.

"You shouldn't be awake yet" her voice is soft, along with her deep brown eyes. The woman stops in her tracks as Candice straightens her back, fear emitting from her stance. "You need to go back to bed."

A man, wearing rounded red sunglasses and a well-fitted suit, walks from an open kitchen and towards the young woman. He stops beside her. Her eyes wide, Candice' tries to understand the situation she is in at the moment.

"Do you remember how you got here?" the man asks. His voice is recognisable; the voice of concern. Twitching her fingers, Candice opens her mouth and then closes it again. "I took you out of the van and bought you here for medical help" the man uses his open palm to point towards the woman.

"My name is Claire Temple, I gave you some fluids-."

"Where are the drugs?" Candice questions, her throat thick. Her skin begins to flush and burn.

"What drugs?" The man asks.

Candice glances toward the right, where she sees the door. Without thinking she begins to run toward the door, her eyes stern and focused.

"Whoa" the man exclaims, stepping toward Candice and grabbing her. Immediately her reaction is to scream. She screams until the man uses his hand to cover her mouth. Muffling her yells, Claire walks over her hands out.

"We're trying to help you!"

Candice trashes in the mans strong arms. With the intensity of the trashing, their thoughts begin to creep into her head.

At first they tip-toed quietly into her head and then all at once she could hear their thoughts. She could feel both of their emotions, strong and deep. With her head throbbing Candice uses her fingers to claw at fingers. The man lowers her to the floor as he realises she's no longer trying to leave.

"Please stop-stop-stop" Candice begins to beg, tears streaming down her face. The nurse lowers beside her, her cold hands on her bare arms.

"Stop what? We're helping you" she whispers.

"Stop the thoughts! Stop your thoughts!" Candice bolts up, Claire quickly standing, on alert.

"What?" Claire asks. Candice walks over to the sofa, propping her feet onto the cushion, wrapping herself into a ball. It's been so long sinces she's heard other people. The drugs Doctor Frett had created was the solution, he allowed her to sleep, he helped her hear herself.

"She can hear our thoughts…" the man concludes. He grabs the woman's arm gently and ushers Claire and himself to the end of the room. The distance between them quietens their thoughts but Candice can still feel the fear and the tension- the relentless questions.

"Does this help?"

Candice nods, her fingers scratching the side of her temples.

"My names Matt Murdock. I saved you last night, from the van… do you remember?"

Candice glances up, in between her ratted blond locks. "I remember" she exhales. "Candice."

Candice watches Matt smile, as he realises she had answered the question that was rattling in his head. "My name is Candice… but listen…" Candice tilts her head forward, her legs still close to her chest "I need the drug okay… I need the drug they have… I can't-can't-can't…"

The image of Doctor Frett appears in her head suddenly, his looming face inching towards hers.

Suddenly both Matt and Claire jolt backwards, Claire slumps to the floor yelling and Matt grips his hands outwards. Snapping back Candice realises what she has done.

"Oh no-no, I'm sorry! This is why I need… I need" Candice begins to sob again.

"What the hell happened?" Claire questions, shakily raising to her feet.

"She can implement images into our heads…" Matt realises. He begins to urge closer, his hand ensuring Claire remains where she is.

"Please don't come too close, I can't control it. I can't stop it." Matt pauses in his steps.

"Candice, I need you to explain to me. Explain what happened to you, what drug you need? If you want me to help you, you need to help me understand."

Bringing her fingers to her mouth, Candice uses her index finger to trace her lower lip which is quivering. Candice watches Claire walk over to the kitchen.

"It hurts" Candice explains, as if that would end the conversation.

Claire walks over, lowering a glass of water onto the table. She steps back, toward Matt who now sits at the other end of the sofa.

"Candice, I can make it stop hurting. Just explain."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 _I-I can only tell you what I know, what I can remember. There's so much to say, you won't believe me, maybe?_

 _But you definitely won't understand. Test subjects, there was so many of us. Rows and rows of cages, people starving and screaming. People like me, not just normal people you know? One's that … that can do things other people can't. I didn't know there was so many, they captured and kidnapped so many. Subdued all of us._

 _The drug; god I'm sorry, you don't understand. I can't think properly. I haven't thought in so long. I haven't heard thoughts… others … in so long. The drug helps me be silent, it helps my head be silent. It stops me hearing and feeling things I don't want to hear and feel. Do you see why I need it now? I can't exist without it._

 _At first I thought they were doing me a favour, b-by giving me it. It helped me sleep. He told he could give it to me, that I could go back to work and I could go and lead a normal life—you know? With him. But-but soon after, I realised how much I needed to function. The injection I had the day before wasn't enough to keep them quiet, it was like my head kept fighting so I needed a higher dose..._

 _Yes! Like heroin. But so much better you see? He told me there was a place I could go to, almost like a vacation thing that would help me. But it was lies. I was a test sub… fuck how?_

 _I was this body that they could prod and poke. Day's I spent in agony. They were doing… god knows-fucking-what but whatever it was, it hurt. It hurt…_

 _I… I'm sorry your questions are too rapid. I don't know where I was, I don't remember where I was taken. At first it was okay, kind of like a clean hospital but within a week it became less luxurious. Eventually… eventually I realised it was almost like a recruitment. Then it became a prison, you couldn't leave; I couldn't go to the bathroom without being watched._

 _They then withheld the drug, I spent a week screaming, projecting images into other peoples head without meaning too… I couldn't sleep… I couldn't eat…They told me if I let them start… injecting me and taking bloods- doing experiments… then I would get the drug that made things quiet._

 _I-know-know it was dumb. I inflicted this shit on myself, but … it made sense right? But-but… Doctor Frett realised I could handle it, the torment … it was fucking constant. Every new injection, every new formula I was the one to test it._

 _What was the injections? I don't know, but… it hurt. My muscle were ripping, my heart was beating, all the time._

 _I went to bed thinking it'll kill me- like it had others but I woke up every fucking morning. Every morning I woke up with him there, looking at me smiling…_

 _Matt please help me… help me get these drugs. Your thoughts are gentle, as are yours Claire. But it's not enough. I can't bare the world with their feelings too, their feelings hurt me more than I can explain. Once I have the drug I can stop them, I can figure it out I promise… NO! Matt listen to me! I will stop them! Kill them? Who cares? They ruin lives?_

 _Don't you compare me to them! Don't you fucking dare! Plea-please just help it be quiet. I just want it quiet._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Candice gags, rancid acid pouring from her stomach out of her mouth. She grips the toilet, her back arching over with force. Throat dry and scratched, her stomach emptier than before, Candice leans backward, her back hitting against the tiled wall.

Tears are streaming down her face from the relentless vomiting.

"Claire's gone to get you some antisickness Candice" Matt says, leaning on the bathroom door.

"It won't make a difference, it doesn't stop the pain." Referring to the thoughts echoing into her ears.

Hour by hour, Candice can hear a new thought travel into her head. The old man downstairs wanting the young girl next door to stop banging on the walls. The girl next door actually having rampant sex with the married man two floors above.

"I can hear things too" Matt admits "I can hear things blocks away, that's how I heard you- screaming in the van." Candice glances upwards, using the back of her hand to wipe the tears away.

"Hearing things aloud are different to hearing peoples thoughts… feeling what they feel… it doesn't stop. Someone can be silent through their mouth, but it's rare to find someone… whose mind is also quiet." Reaching for the cup of water on the floor, Candice lightly brings it to her lips, the cold glass touching her skin.

"You for example, have been standing there in silence for an hour, watching over me, listening to my heart rate, ensuring that I'm breathing with I'm unconscious but you haven't stopped asking yourself questions. You haven't stopped wondering how you can stop my pain, about who done this to me, you're thinking about the others who currently going through the torment I underwent. You've thought about someone called Elektra constantly, every time you do regret and pain floods within you. I can feel your pity and sympathy, your kindness too…" Her stomach cramping, Candice clutches her waist. Matt walks over, kneeling beside Candice.

"I still heard it all, the talking and the screaming, the praying and the pain. Some people talk to themselves, some people talk more at night than during the day. I'm not saying my experience is the exact same as yours. But I know what it feels like, to be helpless."

Matt reaches over, grabbing Candice's hand. His skin is cold compared to the clamminess of hers. "Will you let me help you?"  
Candice rips her hand from his grip, tucking it in her lap.

"The last time I trusted someone, I was imprisoned for three years." Candice bites. Matt nods, stands and turns around, ready to walk out. "But…" Candice hovers "If you help me find the people that done this to me…" interrupted by a sudden wretch, Candice grabs the toilet, more bile exiting her mouth.

 _I'll never let anyone hurt you again  
_  
Candice looks up, taken aback from the thought, staring at the back of Matt Murdock's head. For the first time in three years, Candice remembers what sincerity feels like. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Chomping on some crackers, Candice wraps the blanket around her shoulders. Freshly showered and in new clothes Claire bought for her, Candice can smell the soap emitting from her clean skin. A rare thing she ever experienced in captivity.

"I've been doing some research on Doctor Frett" Claire explains, tapping away at a laptop. "The name sounded familiar when you said it the first time and then I realised why…" Claire looks between Matt who is perched on the table opposite Candice, and Candice herself.

"He's one of the most notorious Doctors in New York City. He's wrote academic journals that have been published and used in University's such as Harvard. He's famous in the medical industry. This is his own website talking about his academic achievements over the past years." Claire turns the laptop around. The image of him shocks Candice. Being so used to viewing him through the haziness of the drug, Candice drops the cracker on the sofa and leans forward.

Her mouth gaping open, she stares at the screen. The scar on his face doesn't seem so vicious, his eyes that were always dark and bead-like seem light and more rounded, the hazel colour shining through the pixels; he seems … normal.  
"Is that him?" Matt asks.  
Unable to talk, Candice nods. Even if Matt didn't get the notion, the room remains silent. Candice reaches for the laptop, Claire willingly hands it over.

The piece of technology feels light in her hands, she hasn't held anything digital in over three years. The picture stares at her, his smile beaming. Candice traces it with her fingers; _Super-Star._

Shivering, Candice gasps, realising only now tears are rolling down her face.

"He what?" Candice turns to Claire at the sound of her thought. Claire coughs awkwardly, "Yeah… he has children. Three girls."

Candice immediately stands, the laptop dropping to the floor. "We need to go and get them" Candice states, the blanket lowering at her feet. Matt stands up, standing opposite her.

"We can't do that."

Surprised at this comment, she steps back, her calves rubbing against the material of the sofa. "The hell you mean we can't do that? We have to help those girls! We can't leave them with him!"

"We can't just take his children without reasonable cause. We could be walking into a trap, he knows you've escaped, he's probably expecting you to just turn up wherever you might have put his name on the internet."

"FUCK REASONABLE CAUSE? Are you joking?!" her body begins to shake, the hairs on her neck standing up. "That piece of shit… that piece of shit…" Candice points at the laptop, Doctor Fretts face still on the dimly lit screen.

Realising that he isn't going to budge, Candice steps to the side. "I'm not going to wait around and let him hurt anyone else! Do you understand?" Grabbing the jacket Claire has given her, Candice makes her way to the door.

This time neither Matt or Claire are try to stop her. Desperately trying to ignore the thoughts around her, Candice opens the door and walks out of the apartment, ready to hunt down her demons.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Confused and lost, Candice tries to remember her bearings but it seems every building looks the same as the last. Even the thoughts in her head have become inaudible, as if a swarm of bees have made a nest within her brain, the buzzing loud and continuous. Walking up and down the same street, Candice tries to remember a world before captivity.

Before the drugs made everything silence, Candice had remedies to dumb down the noise, certain beverages that could do the trick... Looking at the flashing light in front of her, Candice walks into the bar.

The heads of old, biker men turn at her as she takes a seat on a stool. Ignoring the judgements, Candice orders a round of shots; all for herself. The old barman pours the tequila shots, six of them sitting in front of her.

Without hesitating, Candice grabs one, then another one… before she realises, her mouth is burning and all the shots are gone. Her stomach becoming acidic, she tries to ignore the pangs. The barman looks at her, his grey, bushy eyebrow raised, his palm facing outward.

"Shit" Candice hisses to herself, forgetting about the concept of money. Trying to ignore his angry thoughts, Candice tucks her hands into her pockets, her fingers trying to find some kind of payment.

"Hey Lenny, put all of her drinks on my tab" a woman whistles down the bar, drinking the last of her drink. "She clearly needs it."

Candice stares at the pale woman, whose hair is black and her nose pointed. In front of her lay a closed file. A grey scarf is wrapped around her neck, and a leather jacket sits on her comfortably. Candice hears her thoughts, trying to determine whether or not she is genuine. Nothing really comes from the snooping, except Candice can tell she's pissed off.

 _I'm fed up of taking cases of cheating assholes, I'm fed up of having to track down men who spend their free-time eating the ass of their assistants.  
_  
"Thank you" Candice says toward her.

"No problem." The woman counteracts. "Lenny give me and the girl another round of whatever the hell she just ordered." The barman begrudgingly begins to pour out 12 shots.

"What's your name?" Candice asks.

 _Jessica_ "Just because I bought you some drinks doesn't mean I want to be your friend" Jessica snaps, Candice nods trying to ignore the pain in her stomach and the thoughts echoing around her.

With each shot, each emotion becomes less felt and each shot means a quieter mind; yet the persistent buzzing gives Candice a migraine.

"The names Jessica."

Candice again nods, grabbing her last shot whilst Jessica picks up her first.

"Are you a PI?" Candice questions, her manners dispersing into her bloodstream along with the tequila. Jessica turns, her eyes becoming dark.

"How did you know that?"

Candice stands, her feet wavering.

"Lucky guess, I need your help."

Jessica groans, her eyes rolling. She grabs the folder and tucks it in her jacket, before fishing out a wad of cash, leaving it on the counter. Swigging one last shot, she begins to walk out.

"Hey wait!" Candice calls out, following her.

The air is warmer than Candice remembered, her cheeks flushing red from the alcohol. Jessica stops in her tracks, turning around, face-to-face with Candice.

"Look, whoever the hell you are, I bought you those drinks because clearly you needed some alcohol in you. You look like shit." She points to the bruises on Candice's face. Raising her fingers, Candice touches her split lip, remembering the crash of the van. "But I don't need your meddling okay? Just back off."

Candice watches her step forward, walking away eagerly.

"People are dying! I need your help!" Candice yells, again following her. Her footsteps are as heavy as her emotions.

"People always die, I don't need the crap…"

Candice grabs Jessica's arm. With a sudden force Jessica uses her hands, pushing Candice away. The momentum sends Candice to the floor, rolling backwards.

"Stay away from me." Jessica threatens, towering over Candice's body. As though she can still feel Jessica's hands on her chest, she pushes past the ache and rises to her feet. A flood of adrenaline rushes through Candice, anger tingling her finger tips.

"People aren't just dying! They're being tortured and tested on." Candice rushes up behind Jessica, pushing her to the side smacking up against a brick building. Mirroring the rage from Jessica, Candice uses her forearm to pin her to the wall. "If you don't believe me, see for your damn self!" Candice shouts, tears prickling her eyes.

Using the tips of her fingers, Candice touches Jessica's temple. As if every nerve ending was working overdrive, a flood of memories pour out of Candice.

The beatings, the rape, the injections, the drug, the cages, the starvation, Doctor Frett, the pain; the pain; the pain. Jolting backward, unable to take more, her long blond hair falls in front of her face sticking to her sweaty skin.

Candice looks at Jessica, who has slipped to the floor, her eyes opened wide and her breathing rapid. Candice can feel the fear and the confusion.

"Help me." Candice whispers. The humidity dropping now, a breath of fresh air rushing into her lungs. Reaching out her hand, Jessica hesitates, her eyes looking into Candice's, before accepting it. They both stand opposite each other, unsure of one and another, but sure on one thing; the pain.

"I need as much research on Doctor Frett as humanly possible… by tonight…" Candice explains. Jessica sighs, rolling her eyes.

"Fine" they begin to walk, but Jessica hesitates in her footsteps "If you ever do that again, I'll shove my fist down your throat, got that?"

Candice smirks and nods. Following Jessica down the streets to her apartment. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"I'm going to need more information" Jessica explains, swigging at a bottle of whiskey. "This guy is public, he's New York's best doctor with publishing's and all that bullshit but he's private too."

"I need his address." Candice states, pacing up and down the room. Her feet clunking in the over-sized boots Claire gave her.

"Celebrities are more private than that of an idiot 16-year old girl who puts her location on every picture she posts online. It's going to take longer than an hour to find where the guy lives."

Candice exhales loudly, scratching at her head, trying to ignore the thoughts of the people who live above Jessica. "The longer I leave it the more damage he does, do you get that?"

Jessica pauses, staring at Candice. "I don't need your self-diagnoses or analysation of me, I need you to do your job" Candice bites.

Unable to take the bickering of their thoughts, Candice reaches over to the bottle in Jessica's hand and flings it to the ceiling. "SHUT UP!" The glass shards rain to the floor.

"Hey! Dammit! That was my last bottle… they weren't even talking for once!" the sound of the pair waking up and shouting echo downstairs "Well now they are! What the hell is your problem?"

"You know what my problem is! I've showed you my problem!" Candice massages her temples, now they're yelling aloud, the thoughts have subsided. Sleeping thoughts are always louder than active ones.

"No you showed a thirty-second montage of you being tortured" Jessica hauls her feet off of her desk. Candice frowns, biting down on her plumped lips. "I get it, you want revenge, but revenge is better served when you know what the fuck you're doing. If you go marching in where-ever they might kill you, or worse…"

"Capture me" Candice finishes the sentence. Suddenly as if all the energy has been drained out of her, Candice props her butt on the edge of the desk, sighing. With her head throbbing, she shrugs. "What do I do then?"

"Sleep. Give me the rest of the night to figure some shit out about this guy. I can do a few phone calls, maybe even know his timetable… I just need time."

"I gave them three years of my time" Candice murmurs, leaning her head into her palm.

"You're not giving _them_ shit, I'm the one asking. My bed is over there, just go and rest. For half an or hour or something."

Nodding, Candice stands and begins to walk to the bedroom. "When I can get my hands on some money-."

Jessica laughs shaking her head "Think of this as pro-bono or something." Candice smiles, ready to collapse.

Candice wakes up to noise of machine guns. Sitting upright, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room, Candice jumps to her feet and runs to the office.

"Jessica?!" Candice yells.

Three men in military gear are spraying bullets to the room, Jessica is nowhere to be seen. The three men turn, one hold their fist up

"Don't shoot, we need her alive!"

As they rush toward her Candice, steps back, hitting against the door frame. Lifting her hands up, as though they'll protect her, Candice pushes her palms outward.

Without warning, the three soldiers fly in the air backwards. The skin on her palms begin to scald, as though she's just experienced the worst carpet burn known to mankind. Candice looks at her fingers, Jessica emerges from under her desk and rushes over, grabbing Candice by the wrists.

Following her direction, Candice follows Jessica out of the apartment. As they're halfway through the hall, the elevator opens. Four more soldiers step out, machine guns in hand.

"Holy shit" Jessica grunts, kicking the fire-door open. They both run, faster than they realised they could, down the stairs.

"Grab the blond one! Kill the other one! Don't hurt the Product!" a mans voice yells out. Bullets are heard being fired, but Candice sees none fly past either Jessica or herself.

"Come on!" Jessica shouts. Candice still in awe of her hands, finds her fingers trembling as she continues to run. As they exit the stairwell, they run out of the building. "Where do we go?"

As if coming back to reality, Candice looks at the empty street around her, the burning sensation on her palms finally leaving. "Follow me" Candice explains, picking up her pace and running toward Matt Murdock's apartment.

Block after block, Candice can hear Jessica getting out of breath. They turn down a dark alleyway, both leaning against a cold brick wall. The sound of tyres screeching catch both of their attention.

"Listen to me" Candice says stepping in front of Jessica "Do not show them what you can do, do not show them that you're any different from a human, got that? Do not fight them and if you do, fight as though you only have the strength of a normal person." Jessica opens her mouth to argue, "If they figure out you're like me, you're fucked do you get that?" Candice growls.

As they step beyond the shadows a black SUV swerves in front of the alleyway, this time, five armed men stepping forward. Their guns pointed toward Candice and Jessica. Coming from behind them General Peters saunters forward, wearing a black turtle neck and dark green trousers, his neat hair still slicked back.

"Candice, did you really expect us not to find you?" General Peters asks, the shame she saw in him the other day has gone, the confidence backed up by the machine guns.

"Candice?" she croaks, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice "I thought I was an _it_ to you?" She steps forward, using her hand to indicate to Jessica to keep back. "You know what, _General Peters_ , I may have been drugged up to my eyeballs, but I could hear every damn word you said aloud."

"Oh please Candice" Peters laughs, glancing to the side "You begged for the drugs. You handed yourself for the tes-."

"DON'T!" Candice warns "Don't you fucking dare! I did not sign myself up to a live in a goddamn cage." Her pale face reddening, her teeth grinding.

Blinking, Candice makes the vision of soldiers become black.

"I can't see!"

"I'm blind!"

Three of the men drop their guns holding their face begging for their vision. The other two hold their weapons threateningly, but Candice can sense the fear.

General Peters look at the blinded men, realising he is vulnerable he reaches down to grab one of the guns. With the flick of her index finger the guns go flying to the side. Peters gasps in shock. The familiar pain of burning runs across her fingers.

"Wha-?" The General stammers, looking at Candice.

Both Jessica and Candice stride forward, the General lifts his hands in the air submitting.

"I guess we have to break the news to Doctor Frett… his little experiments made his super star even stronger." Candice mutters into General Peters ear, feeding from his fear, the excitement running in her chest.

Jessica leans over grabbing the gun, she turns it around and uses the back of it to knock General Peters unconscious.

"Was he your captor?" Jessica asks, dropping the gun on the floor beside his lifeless body.

"Yeah" Candice sighs "and my fiancé."


End file.
